Spritz and Condish Washing for Porous Types+Thirsty Curls Everywhere!

***While this seems to be helping Porous heads in particular, Low & Med porosity types are benefitting as well ****

The idea of using a lighter condish to co-wash and then a thicker one as a rinse out came from this site I believe? In the original CG Handbook this isn't how co-washing was introduced.

For wavies & those still using shampoo it was coat your hair with 1T conditioner, use a shampoo on your scalp and rinse it all through. Then take a small amt (about 1t) and rinse that through. If you weren't using shampoo you would just use about 1T of conditioner total. Obviously you would have to adjust things as needed for your own hair. For extra cleansing you would mist your scalp and hair with some Lavender mist and be done. I wonder if a lot of us over do it with Co-washing and then using another round of conditioning on top of that? I know I did so I started using Low Poos but didn't really like the results I was getting and I really hated co-washing it totally weighed me down.

This is what I do now I call it Spritz and Condish :tongue5:

1. Mist Hair well with a water bottle

2. Use conditioner and scrunch it all in ( I prefer a really nice moisturizing one not a Suave or Vo5) let it sit for 5-10mins.

3. Get in shower rinse it all out (upside down provides more clumping) then add a small amt to ends and scrunch it through. Low Poo Scalp and scrub. If you need to detangle with a comb or brush this would be a good time to do it since your hair is really wet.

I still need to Low Poo my length, on occasion but I find as long as the conditioner has surfactants in it I'm good. My favorite surfactant being Behentrimonium Methosulfate it seems to clean better for my hair.

I've been doing this since the Summer and it continues to work great for me. I've shared this with a couple other wavies and it's worked well for them. Hopefully we'll get some input from them.

So let's hear it for the Spritz & Condish :occasion9: Who's going to try this and report their results? I know I have some Pics will post them later or I'll take some new ones since my hair is shorter now. Actually my Avie is using this method.

Oh yeah I was just about to edit my post. I scrub my scalp with some condish in Step 1 then in the shower I'll use a little bit of Low Poo on my scalp before rinsing it all upside down. Obviously if you're not an upside down rinser you don't have to do that. I just get better waves when I do everything upside down.

In my experience I need to use a very light CO wash, but plenty of it. That condish is not rich enough to moisturize my hair, no matter what the season, so I use a heavier rinse out (but only as much as needed for slip).

I have tried using the heavier condish for both, but my hair ended up too greasy and weighed down. So i guess I will just stick with what is working.

I've also done this without spritzing first all in the Shower and I don't get the same results. I get better waves doing spritz and condish and I think that has something to do with being porous and absorbing too much water normally. This keeps me from absorbing too much water, almost like an OIL Pre Poo kind of thing.

Sounds like a neat idea, Del, I'll have to try it. But yes, I do only use one conditioner for washing AND conditioning, and it's Suave Naturals Strawberry ... conditioning enough, and I need something light or else my hair gets weighed down, so I'm happy with it.

Sounds like a neat idea, Del, I'll have to try it. But yes, I do only use one conditioner for washing AND conditioning, and it's Suave Naturals Strawberry ... conditioning enough, and I need something light or else my hair gets weighed down, so I'm happy with it.

I'm not sure we're talking about the same thing?? Are you doing this in one step or are you wetting, co-washing, rinsing, then adding more condish?

One of the benefits (again this may be more for the porous heads) is that my drying time is cut in half! I credit that to the spritzing & adding condish as opposed to doing a full wet down washing, rinsing then adding more condish.

I tend to just use the same light conditioner for the CO wash part and for the conditioner part - if I use a heavier conditioner after the CO wash it seems to weigh me down.

What's interesting is that I recently reread the CG book. I totally adjusted the amounts to what the book said (for wavies) as I realized I was way overdoing it with the conditioner. A big difference and my hair has more body. I still low poo once a week or more if needed though, since I am a wavy not so much a curly.

I'm really glad you told me about this DEL, because I've been doing it ever since you told me about it (unless I'm washing to get rid of hard water build up). I modified it though, cause I'm a little lazy. However with the modifications, it works great for me.

I get in the shower and get my hair wet. I condition the length, or in my case, usually only the part of my hair that feels dry, which is my canopy (the most damaged). I keep the conditioner away from my scalp and roots. I then loo-poo the scalp, roots, nape of my neck, and just above my ears which are all the parts that tend to get very greasy for me. I rinse all that out, and then will add just a bit of conditioner to my whole head and rinse. So its not quite the same DEL, but it has worked to give more moisture to the parts that need it, without totally greasing up the parts that don't.

Grand Goobah Caedran, Aqueous Infusion of Demulcents, Order of the Curly Crusaders

I tend to just use the same light conditioner for the CO wash part and for the conditioner part - if I use a heavier conditioner after the CO wash it seems to weigh me down.

What's interesting is that I recently reread the CG book. I totally adjusted the amounts to what the book said (for wavies) as I realized I was way overdoing it with the conditioner. A big difference and my hair has more body. I still low poo once a week or more if needed though, since I am a wavy not so much a curly.

Yup I think I've over-done it with condish at times until I re-read the CG handbook too. I do find that the Suaves, V05's aren't ideal for me personally but I think it's the combination of ingredients that my hair tends to dislike with those.

goober I forgot that I had told you about this Modifications are usually necessary for each individual. Do you find washing upside down makes any difference for you? I find that it is less "disturbing" to my canopy and keeps my wave pattern better by doing this.

ETA: Do you guys think my thread title is appropriate?? I can't seem to get it right...............

I LOVE Del's Spritz method. I've been doing it for about three months now (has it been that long?). My hair has only been dry once, and it was during a two-week period when I washed normally.

I spritz my hair and then apply rinse-out (usually GVP CB). Leave in for up to 30 min while doing other things. Then when I hop in the shower, I go straight to co-washing if it's a co-wash day. If not, I skip to the next step of brushing my conditioner through. I don't brush the conditioner through when I first apply due to breakage fears. I get my hair a little wet before brushing. From then on, it's normal washing.

It's really not any hassle to do this method. For me, it's no different than DTing. With this method, I don't need to DT at all. I actually save time during the washing process, because not only am I not waiting for my rinse-out to soak in a bit, but my hair doesn't absorb as much water as usual. This means not much water to squeeze out and cutting down on diffusing time. And since it doesn't have as much water to absorb, it absorbs more conditioner and stays super moisturized.

It's amazing and I'm so glad Del introduced me to it! I definitely recommend it to highly porous curlies!

THANKS curlyjenn!!! I was hoping you'd weigh in with current stats msg inspired me over the Summer because my hair was taking a BEATING going to the Beach and getting wet constantly. She mentioned that she would coat her hair with condish before heading to the water. I started doing this and then just continued because it seemed to work really well. I definitely agree that it does something to prevent us porous heads from absorbing too much water and we get better conditioning.

THANKS curlyjenn!!! I was hoping you'd weigh in with current stats msg inspired me over the Summer because my hair was taking a BEATING going to the Beach and getting wet constantly. She mentioned that she would coat her hair with condish before heading to the water. I started doing this and then just continued because it seemed to work really well. I definitely agree that it does something to prevent us porous heads from absorbing too much water and we get better conditioning.

No problem - thanks for sharing! It's something that makes so much sense and is so easy that I feel stupid for not inventing it myself, lol.

I'm going to try this tomorrow. Since I henna'd I have taken a slide down the porosity scale but I seem to be inching back up to more porous. I'm kind of glad since I can't seem to get the hang of this more low porosity thing--everything just sitting on my hair. It's weird. Granted my daughter has low porosity but her hair is much coarser than mine and so thick it can absorb a lot of mom-didn't-get-the-right-product/amount-this time sins

So If I have this right I just spritz it in before I hop in the shower (for me since I'm up at 5:30 it would be before I make coffee cuz I am in the shower by 5:40 usually) then do the co-wash or low poo and then I'm done? I'm finding now that a leave in is better than multiple conditioning in the shower...so this may work nicely. Got my spritz bottle ready to go!

Alex depending on the condish I use (too many in my PJ arsenal at the moment but I'm working on weaning) I don't always need more after rinsing. When I use the CJ Tub condish I usually don't need it. I have been using a LI consistently though. Hey you might want to try it on your daughters coarse-ish hair you never know!

Alright I'll try it tomorrow or Thurs and let you know. I found that if I use Suave to cowash I need a lot but with Healty Sexy Hair Pumpkin condish and Wen I didn't and I was using the latter 2 as both cowash and rinse-out. I only need to cowash 2x a week anyway and I rarely ever low poo. Anything that cuts down my drying time is golden plus I need a lot of detangling so maybe letting the condish sit that long could help.

High Priestess JessMess, follower of the Goddess of the Coiling Way and Confiscator of Concoctions in the Order of the Curly Crusaders

Alright I'll try it tomorrow or Thurs and let you know. I found that if I use Suave to cowash I need a lot but with Healty Sexy Hair Pumpkin condish and Wen I didn't and I was using the latter 2 as both cowash and rinse-out. I only need to cowash 2x a week anyway and I rarely ever low poo. Anything that cuts down my drying time is golden plus I need a lot of detangling so maybe letting the condish sit that long could help.

Try it upside down Jess I'm telling you it makes a difference. Just like the Ice Queen method I totally forgot you were porous! I'm very curious to see how this works for you because Jenn and I are both coarse as well as on the porous side and so far we're the only ones that have been doing this. If I do decide I need more condish after rinsing it's not very much at all and then I keep scrunching while rinsing.

Alright I'll try it tomorrow or Thurs and let you know. I found that if I use Suave to cowash I need a lot but with Healty Sexy Hair Pumpkin condish and Wen I didn't and I was using the latter 2 as both cowash and rinse-out. I only need to cowash 2x a week anyway and I rarely ever low poo. Anything that cuts down my drying time is golden plus I need a lot of detangling so maybe letting the condish sit that long could help.

Try it upside down Jess I'm telling you it makes a difference. Just like the Ice Queen method I totally forgot you were porous! I'm very curious to see how this works for you because Jenn and I are both coarse as well as on the porous side and so far we're the only ones that have been doing this. If I do decide I need more condish after rinsing it's not very much at all and then I keep scrunching while rinsing.

I've been doing everything upside down since you posted in my thread about what Xcptnl was doing for root volume. So you're spritzing then scrunching the condish in upside down before the shower? Just want to make sure I do it right.

I just had an epiphany but I don't want to guano so I'm off to update my thread.

High Priestess JessMess, follower of the Goddess of the Coiling Way and Confiscator of Concoctions in the Order of the Curly Crusaders

Jess-The upside down thing is only in the Shower although I do scrunch in the condish upside down to make sure I get even distribution. I was combing it but like jenn said I was worried about breakage and I started to see some flyaways that weren't there before. So now I just use my fingers in the shower.

1. Where would a brown sugar scrub fit into this routine (I really need one tonight)

2. Do you think rinsing upside down would cause tangle issues for us tangle-prone curlies (me) =P

I've done the brown sugar scrub in Step 1 and just let it sit there until I get in the shower

As far as tangles, I don't know. I think some that have done the Ice Queen method did mention more tangles. :? Only one way to find out curlaygirlay! Do let us know if you decide to do it upside down. It's not crucial but I just find that I get a better wave pattern by doing this.

Del, do you use any/all of the conditioners in your siggie, or do you only use co's with Behentrimonium Methosulfate for this method?Could you recommend some co's?

I try to stick with the ones with Behentrimonium Methosulfate (Beh Meth) but I can still get good results with LVPNG. Jenn uses GVP I actually haven't used mine in a while. Sometimes I'll use one of my others for the final rinse out if I need it. But that's mostly because I just have too many conditioners and I've got to use them up!

1. Where would a brown sugar scrub fit into this routine (I really need one tonight)

2. Do you think rinsing upside down would cause tangle issues for us tangle-prone curlies (me) =P

I've done the brown sugar scrub in Step 1 and just let it sit there until I get in the shower

As far as tangles, I don't know. I think some that have done the Ice Queen method did mention more tangles. :? Only one way to find out curlaygirlay! Do let us know if you decide to do it upside down. It's not crucial but I just find that I get a better wave pattern by doing this.

CurlayGurlay I make sure to add a little extra leave-in at the nape and it really helps with tangles. I get underneath tangles and rinsing upside down has never made them worse.

High Priestess JessMess, follower of the Goddess of the Coiling Way and Confiscator of Concoctions in the Order of the Curly Crusaders

Del, this is a fascinating technique! Not only am I porous, but I have way too much hair for one person. My air drying time is close to 6 hours. I have a three day business trip coming up and I'm too stressed about hair care to worry about actual work! I've got to come up with a strategy for dry, presentable hair that doesn't require getting up at 3 am! Most days, I walk around with wet hair. :geek:

In the end, do you get more volume than with co-wash and condish? (volume is not my friend)

I have been using the Spritz and Condish method since early September and it has been great! I get pretty consistent results. I get much better clumping & definition of my waves and have gotten pretty great 2nd hair days when pineappling, spritzing with lav/condish H2O and scrunch in some Mop Top gel. I have pictures of the Spritz & Condish results in my Fotki towards the end of my pics. I think it might by my 2nd hair day pics though. It's been awhile.

I spritz my dry hair with plain water very throughly so it is very damp/wet. I then apply probably 2 T or maybe more of condish. I leave on for at least 10-15 min but up to 1 hour. I have combed out my hair with a wide tooth comb. I rinse out in the shower, scrunch in additional condish upside down, rinse out, scrunch in LI, scrunch in my gels, scrunch moisture out with flour sack towel and then do my clips to dry.

It really doesn't take as long as it sounds. I have been doing this in the evening so that on the days I work I have time in the morning to get ready faster. I just sleep with my hair pineappled.

and oooooooooooh my hair is so soft and moisturized! It has been so hard to find enough moisture for my thirsty curls but I think this did it! And surprise surprise there is less frizz (still some frizz) but definetly less frizz. Which really surprised me because it didn't seem like this method was going to do anything for frizz (and I used the same products as I have been btw) The only thing I can think of is maybe the fact my hair is so hydrated so less frizz??? :pr:

The one downer is that I did get tons of tangles from going upside down. I spent alot of extra time combing through the knots in the shower.

So to conclude...it looks like a great method for porous curlies...but if you're tangle-prone don't rinse upside down.

P.S. I'll be trying this again tomorrow without rinsing upside and I'll be sure to post the results!